Apparatus for handling bulk materials



1932? E. sMooT 1,858,645 I APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK MATERIALS Filed Dec. 17, 1929 5'Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. lea/52. 50100? W a A TTORNEW y 1932- E. SMOOT I I 1,858,645

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK MATERIALS Filed Dec. 17, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 i INVENTOR.

' A TTORNEYJ' May 17, 1932'; L, E SMOOT- 1,858,645

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK MATERIALS Filed Dec. '17, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet z k I N VEN TOR.

' A TTORNEYJ Patented May 17, 1932 warren stares LEWIS E SMOQT', OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BULK ,MATERIALS Application filed December 17, 1929. Serial No. 414,687.

uring the materials at the point at which they are mixed. To meet the demands of the contractors in this regard the trucking companies have devised means for dividing a truck body into a plurality of compartments, each compartment designed to receive a batch of concrete aggregate materials including sand, gravel and cement or any two of these ingredients. Usually the means employed by the trucking companies comprises removable partitions installed transversely of the truck body and arranged to divide the truck body into a longitudinal series of transverse compartments dimensioned to receive a predetermined batch of aggregate material, the size of said compartments being determined by the mixer which is to receive said materials.

It has been found in loading aggregate materials into the batch compartments of trucks of the type above referred'to that, due to the relatively large transverse dimension of the truck body and batch compartment with reference to the chute or discharge throat of the hopper from which the materials are delivered into said compartments, objectionable pyramiding or peaking of the load occurs transversely of each compartment. This peaking of the batches rises to such heights as to cause objectionable spilling or overflow of the upper portions of the batches into adjacent compartments. Obviously this defeats the particular purpose of the batch truck in that unequal quantities votthe aggregate materials are thus deposited in the several compartments. At the present time this .diliiculty is sought to be overcome by stationing an operator adjacent the vehicle during the filling period, said operator being provided with a shovel or hoe with which he levels the batch in each compartment as it is being delivered into the truck. By this means the batches in the several compartments are maintained substantially leveland within the confines of the truck sides. Obviously, however, this is an added expense and should be avoided if possible.

In view of the-foregoingfacts, the present inventionseeks to provide a method of and apparatus for loading batches of concrete aggregate into the batch compartments of trucks designed to transport the material from a supply yard to a mixing device, in a manner such that objectionable peaking of the load is avoided.

More particularly, the apparatus contemplates the provision of means for dimensioning the outlet end of a discharge hopper from which the aggregate material is delivered to the truck, to conform substantially to the dimensions of the compartment in the truck body. t

The apparatus also contemplates the provision of means for adusting the major dimension of the discharge throat of the hopper to accommodate different sized truck bodies, it being here noted that there is at present no uniform practice with regard to the overall transverse dimension of a truck body.

The invention also contemplates the pro vision of aloading hopper provided with. means for adjustably constricting the discharge throat thereo f, independently of the usual cut oil doors controlling flow of material through the throat. V

The invention also contemplates the provision of means for accomplishing the inclicated purpose, which: is particularly designed 9 for use in instances where head room is at a premium such as is the case in supply yards utilizing overhead storage bins.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in connection ith the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure l is an elevational view of a batch truck about to be loaded from the apparatus forming the subject matter of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the relative positions and dimensions of the truck compartments and discharge throat of the hoper. p Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a charging hopper constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the hopper, parts thereof being broken away to disclose the interior adjustable end plates a-nd operating mechanism therefor.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a hopper, with certain parts being broken away.

Fig 6 is a sectional view showing one end of the hopper interiorly.

"Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout, attention is directed first to Fig. 1, wherein is disclosed a preferred arrangement of the loading hopper forming the subject matter of the present invention. In this figure a truck T is shown in loading position beneath the hopper H which is positioned to receive aggregate m..- terials from an overhead storage bin B. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the hopper H is suspended from an overhead beam 1 by suitable bail members 2 in a manner suitable for connection to a scale mechanism (not shown). By this arrangement, the separate aggregate materials may be charged from the overhead storage bin through a chute G into the hopper H, the materials being there weighed in quantities sufficient to form a predetermined batch and the hopper then discharged into the truck below.

The hopper H, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, comprise inclined side members 3 1nterconnected at the ends by substantially V-shaped 7 hopper is suspended from the overhead beam 1 as shown in Fig. 1. The discharge end of the hopper terminates in a discharge throat, having substantially vertical sides 6, the low er open end of the throat being controlled by suitablecut off doors or valves 7-7. These doors are pivotally mounted to exterior frame members 8, in bearing blocks 9 secured thereto on the enterior surfaces. Any suit-, able means may be employed for properly mounting the doors 7 for pivotal movement with respect to the end plates but it is preferred to provide the doors 7 with arcuate end plates 10, the latter being provided with inwardly directed pintles engaging the blocks 9. e As shown in Fig. 5 the doors 7 are arranged cooperatively to close the open dischargeend of the hopper, the upper portions of the arcuate end plates 10 being provided with intermeshing segmental gears formed concentric to the pivotipoint of the doors whereby the doors are constrained to move in unison to their opened and closed positions. Any suitable means may be employed for operating the doors, the illustrated embodiment of the inventionincluding a bell crank 12 secured to a shaft 12a pivotally mounted on one side wall of the hopper at 13. One end of said bell crank is connected by a link 14 to a stud 15 carried by one of the endplates 10 of the doors 7, while the opposite end of the bell crank is connected by a link 16 to an operating lever 17 pivotally mounted as at 18 to an end wall of the hopper. By reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen that by operating the lever 17 about its pivot 18a, the bell crank 12 is operated to move the doors 7 to open and closed position as desired. Preferably the opposite end of the shaft 12a is provided with an arm 13a, connected by a link 14a to a stud 1565 on the outer end wall of the door so as to operate the door from both ends thus relieving the door of tortional strain.

As hereinbefore indicated, the major dimension of the hopper H is designed to correspond with the transverse dimension of a truck body. For convenience, it is proposed to so dimension the hopper H that the overall transverse dimension of tht discharge end thereof shall be approximately equal to the transverse dimension of the maximum size of truck body which is to be served by the hopper. It is necessary, however, in order that the hopper may be used toserve smaller Vision of adjustable end plates in the lower I portion of the hopper arranged to be placed at various angles of inclination to correspondingly diminish the effective area of discharge of the hopper.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, these end plates are'indicated by the reference numeral 18. Each plate has associated therewith an operatingshaft 19 and each plate is connected to its respective shaft by means of an arm 20 keyed to the shaft 19 and pivotally connected to the plate 18 by means of a. pin 21. Preferably each plate is connected to its respective shaft 19 by means of a pair of arms 20 as above described, this construction being shown in Fig. 5. The point of attachment of each plate 18 to the arms 20 is such that the plate normally tends to assume a substantially vertical position under the action of gravity and in order to increase the tendency of the plate to assume such a position, the plates are preferably counterweightecl at their lower ends by suitable means indicated at 22.

Referring to Figs. 4 and5, the plates 18 are as being substantially V-shaped in contour,,having inclined side edges 18a and a substantially right angular lower terminal portion 18?), the inclined edges being designed to cooperate with the inclined side walls 4 of the hopper, and the right angular terminal portions 18?) being dimensioned to fit within the discharge throat of the hopper and form end walls thereof. In this 0011- struction, it is to be noted that the vertical extent of the portion 18?) as shown in Fig. 6, is somewhat in excess of that of the throat, in order to insure the lower edge of the portion 187) maintaining contact with the doors 7 in substantially all positions of the plates.

The plates 18 are arranged to be moved from a substantially vertical position such as shown in Fig. 3 to various inclined positions, one of which is indicated in Fig. 4 by suitable operating mechanism including a,

crank arm 23 fixed to one of the shafts 19, said crank arm being extended to form a handle member 24 which operatively engages a segmental rack 25 secured to one side of the hopper. The shaft 19 at the opposite end of the hopper is interconnected for simultaneous operation with the shaft carrying the operating handle 24 by means of a drag link 26 and a crank arm 27, the latter being fixed tothe opposite shaft 19.

Referring again to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the end walls 4 of the hopper do not extend from top to bottom of the hopper but terminate a substantial distance from the bottom, at a point indicated by the reference character 28. From this point downward the plates 18 define adjustable end walls of the hopper and discharge throat. The lower end portions of the hopper are also provided with suitable tie plates 29. These plates extend laterally as at 29a beyond the plane of the end walls 4 to form an open top housing within which the plates 18 operate, and also to strengthen the lower portion of the hopper and prevent spreading of the side walls. In view of the counterweighted condition of the plates 18 a hard metal bearing member 30 is provided at the lower end of the end plates 4, this hearing member furnishing a substantially rigid and wear resisting bearing for the upper extremities of the plates 18.

Due to the V-shaped formation of the hopper as a whole, it is apparent that means must be provided for compensating for the difference in the contour of the lines of contact between the plates 18 and the side walls of the hopper and when the plates are in a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3, and when the plates are in an inclined position, such as shown in Fig. 4. To this end the inclination of the side edges of the end plates 18 is made steeper than that of the side walls ofv in shape and are of varying thickness, being their inwardly directed forward edges. This construction will be apparent from an inspection of Figs. 4, 5 and 6. As shown in Fig. 5, the filler blocks are arranged to cooperate with the end plates 18 for forming a complete end wall for the lower portion of the hopper and due to the tapering thickness of the filler blocks, this same cooperation obtains in the intermediate positions of the plates 18. In the fully extended or inclined position of the plates 18, however, said plates are clear of the filler blocks 31 and lie snugly against the inner inclined walls of the hopper. This not only insures against leakage of material between the plates and walls of the hopper, but also relieves the operating shafts 19 and associated parts, of a substantial amount of strain due to weight of material supported by the plates, in their inclined positions. l

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the plates 18 are freely pivoted on the arms 20, and move within their respective housings as the arms 20 are moved in response to rocking movements of the shafts 19, said plates being guided to their proper positions by the counterweights 22, and bearings 30.

Referring now to the manner in which the apparatus forming the subject matter of the present invention may be used, a truck is driven under the suspended hopper as shown in Fig. 1 and the end plates 18 selectively positioned to correspond to the width of the truck to be served. This is accomplished by manipulating the operating lever 24 to bring the plates 18 into their properly inclined position. The doors 7 being closed, a suitable quantity of one aggregate material is charged into the hopper, for instance gravel, this material being weighed by the scale mechanism hereinbefore referred. to. Next, a suitable quantity of another aggregate, for instance sand, is charged into the hopper and this weighed in the same manner. If desired a proper quantity of cement may also be charged into the hopper and weighed. The batch having thus been accurately weighed in the hopper, the batch is discharged into the first compartment of the truck by opening the doors 7 in the bottom of the hopper and allowing the batch to flow by gravity into the truck. This operation is continued until the several compartments of the truck have been filled, it being understood that the truck is successively moved forward after each compartment is filled to successively position is apparent that the batches of material from the hopper will pass into the compartments of the truck in a stream of substantially the same transverse dimension as that of the compartment being filled;

This positively precludes the possibility of the batches of material peaking transversely of the compartments and inasmuch as the compartments are relatively long and narrow, there is no opportunity for the batches to peak longitudinally of the truck,

or at least to such an extent as to be objectionable.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that while I have chosen to show a hopper provided with two adjustable end plates for symmetrically restricting the discharge throat thereof, substantially the same results could'beobtained with but a single adjustable end plate. In this event, however, the trucks would not be positioned centrally of the hopper discharge throat, but instead, would be positioned with one side edge of the body in alinement with the end wall of the hopper that was non-adjustable.

It is further to be noted that a hopper constructed in accordance with the present invention, is of the same vertical dimension as a hopper of conventional form. This is of particular advantage in instances wherein head room must be conserved, such as is the case in supply depots having overhead bins of the type indicated in Fig. 1. Bearing in mind that in gravity discharge hoppers, definite inclinations of side walls must be maintained in order to render the hopper self-cleaning it is important to note that by extending the adjustable end walls of the I discharge throat well up into the body of the hopper, sufiicient inclination is obtained at all positions of the plates, to render. the hopper self-cleaning and this without adding anything to the vertical dimension of .the hopper.

Having thus described my invention, it is apparent that I have provided a method of and'ineansfor the batch loading of concrete aggregate into the compartments of a truck 7 in a manner such as to positively preclude the possibility of peaking of the batches within the several compartments and the subsequent spilling or overflow of the batches from one compartment to the other.

. In conclusion it is to be noted that while I have here chosen to illustrate and describe a preferred embodiment of my invention, such 1 the discharge opening thereof for varying the effective area of discharge thereof, and

closure means for the discharge opening 00- operating with said constricting means in all positions thereof to'eflectively close the discharge opening as defined by said constricting means.

2. A hopper comprising a body portion having a discharge opening, closure means for controlling said opening, means within the hopper and adjacent to the discharge opening thereof for varying the effective area of discharge thereof and means for operating said last mentioned means independently of said closure means.

3. A hopper comprising a body portion including side and end walls and having a discharge opening, opposed portions of said walls being movable to variably ccnstrict the discharge opening, means for so moving said wall portions, and closure means movable transversely of said discharge opening, said closure means and movable wall portions being cooperatively positioned relative to each other so as to effectively close the opening defined by said wall portions in all positions thereof. i

. A. A hopper comprising a body portion in cluding side and end walls and having a discharge opening, opposed portions of said 7 walls being movable to variably constrict the discharge opening, means for simultaneously moving said wall portions in substantially equal amounts in opposite directions for symmetrically varying the efiective area of dis charge, and independently operable closure means effective in all positions of the movable wall portions to efiectively close the discharge opening defined thereby.

5. A hopper comprising a body portion having a discharge opening, closure means for closing and opening said discharge opening and a plate mounted within the hopper andmovable to a position partially constricting the discharge opening'for varying the effective area of dischargeof the hopper, said plate cooperating with said closure means in all positions of'the former to effectively close that portion of the discharge opening unrestricted by sa'idfplate. f

6. A hopper comprising a body portio including side and end walls, the side walls converging to a relatively narrow discharge throat, external closure members controlllng 7. A hopper comprising a body portion including side and end walls, the side walls converging to a relatively narrow discharge throat, external closure members controlling said discharge throat, and movable plates mounted at opposite ends of the throat, said l plates normally occupying a substantially vertical position and movable at will to an inwardly and downwardly inclined position to constrict the discharge throat means for so moving the plates, the plates being partially supported in their inclined position upon the converging side walls of the hopper whereby to relieve the plate operating means from strains due to the weight of material within the hopper above the plates.

8. A hopper comprising a body portion including side and end walls, the side walls converging to a relatively narrow discharge throat, external closure members controlling said discharge throat, and movable plates mounted at opposite ends of the throat, said plates normally occupying a substantially vertical position and movable at will to an inwardly and downwardly inclined position to constrict the discharge throat, means for so moving the plates, and filler blocks secured to the converging side walls of the hopper adjacent to said movable plates and cooperating therewith to close the ends of the hopper in certain positions of the plates.

9. A hopper comprising a body portion having a discharge throat, a movable plate defining one wall of said throat, a shaft, an arm fixed to the shaft and pivotally connected to said plate, means for oscillating the shaft to cause movement of the plate and guide means for constraining the plate to move to predetermined positions for constricting more or less the discharge end of the throat, and closure means for the throat cooperating with said plate in all positions thereof to effectively close the opening defined thereby.

10. A hopper comprising a body portion having a discharge throat, a movable plate defining one wall of said throat, a shaft, an arm fixe d to the sh aft and pivotally connected to said plate, means for oscillating the shaft to cause movement of the plate and guide means for constraining the plate to move the predetermined positions for constricting more or less the discharge end of the throat, and closure means operative independently of the plate for opening and closing the discharge end of the throat in all positions of the plate.

11. A hopper comprising a body portion terminating in a discharge throat, movable end plates defining opposed walls of said throat, and means for operating the plates in unison to partially constrict the discharge throat, and closure means operating independently of the end plates and positively controlling the flow of material through said throat in all positions of the plates.

12. A hopper comprising a body portion terminating in a discharge throat. adjustable end plates pivotally mounted on the hopper body and poised to normally maintain a sub stantially vertical position, bearing members for the plates above the pivotal mounting tion.

thereof and means to apply force to the plates below said bearings tending to move the plates into engagementwith said bearingsto cause the plates to assume an inclined posi- 18. A hopper comprising a bodyportion terminating in a discharge throat, adjustable end plates mounted upon the hopper body intermediate their ends for pivotal movement about a movable and substantially horizontal axis, a stationary bearing for each plate above the pivotal axisjthereof, and means for simultaneously applying inwardly directed force to each'plate substantially at. the pivotal axis thereof whereby to cause the plates to fulcrum on said stationary bearings to inwardly and downwardly inclined positions.

14; In a hopper, a discharge throat, a movable plate defining a wall thereof, a shaft, an arm fixed thereto, said plate being pivotally connected to the free end of the arm for movement in an arc of a circle about the axis of said shaft when said shaft is oscillated, and guide means for the plate including a bearing member located above the pivotal connection between the plate and arm and engageable by the plate to cause the same to move to an inclined position within the throat ,to partially constrict the discharge 1;

end thereof when the shaft is oscillated.

15. A hopper comprising a body portion including side and end walls, the side walls converging to a relatively narrow discharge throat, external closure members controlling said discharge throat, movable plates mounted at opposite ends of the throat, said plates normally occupying a substantially vertical position and movable at will to an inwardly and downwardly inclined position to con strict the discharge throat, means for so moving the plates, and means for maintaining the lower edges of said plates in close proximity to said closure members in all positions of the plates.

16. A hopper comprising body portions including fixed and movable wall portions defining a discharge opening, said movable wall portions being mounted for free bodily movement with respect to the hopper body, means for moving said movable wall portions, and guide means for positioning said movable wall portions to restrict said discharge opening a predetermined amount.

17. A hopper comprising a body portion including a discharge throat, oppositely inclined walls defining sides of said throat, opposed generally vertical walls defining other sides of said throat, at least one of said vertical walls including a movable portion, means for moving said portion and guide means constraining said movable portion to assume an inclined position partially constricting the discharge opening, said inclined walls of the throat in part supporting said movable wall portion in its inclined position. 18. A hopper comprising a body portion including a discharge throat, oppositely inclined 'walls defining sides of said throat, opposed generally vertical Walls defining other sides of said throat, at least one of said vertical Walls including a movable portion,

closure means for said discharge throat, means for movmg sald portion and guide means constraining said movable portion to assume an inclined posltlon partlally constricting the dlscharge opening, said inclmed 'walls of the throat in part supporting said "movable Wall portion in its inclined position with the lower edge of the Wall portion in close proximity to said closure means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

LEWIS E., SMOQT. 

